Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that are released by a wide variety of cells to attract macrophages, T cells, eosinophils, basophils and neutrophils to sites of inflammation (reviewed in Schall, Cytokine, 3, 165-183 (1991) and Murphy, Rev. Immun., 12, 593-633 (1994)). These are two classes of chemokines, C-X-C (xcex1) and C-C (xcex2), depending on whether the first two cysteines are separated by a single amino acid (C-X-C) or are adjacent (C-C). The xcex1-chemokines, such as interleukin-8 (IL-8), neutrophil-activating protein-2 (NAP-2) and melanoma growth stimulatory activity protein (MGSA) are chemotactic primarily for neutrophils, whereas xcex2-chemokines, such as RANTES, MIP-1xcex1, MIP-1xcex2, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), MCP-2, MCP-3 and eotaxin are chemotactic for macrophages, T-cells, eosinophils and basophils (Deng, et al., Nature, 381, 661-666 (1996)).
The chemokines bind specific cell-surface receptors belonging to the family of G-protein-coupled seven-transmembrane-domain proteins (reviewed in Horuk, Trends Pharm. Sci., 15, 159-165 (1994)) which are termed xe2x80x9cchemokine receptors.xe2x80x9d On binding their cognate ligands, chemokine receptors transduce an intracellular signal though the associated trimeric G protein, resulting in a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration. There are at least seven human chemokine receptors that bind or respond to xcex2-chemokines with the following characteristic pattern: CCR-1 (or xe2x80x9cCKR-1xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-1xe2x80x9d) [MIP-1xcex1, MIP-1xcex2, MCP-3, RANTES] (Ben-Barruch, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 22123-22128 (1995); Beote, et al, Cell, 72, 414-415 (1993)); CCR-2A and CCR-2B (or xe2x80x9cCKR-2Axe2x80x9d/xe2x80x9cCKR-2Axe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-2Axe2x80x9d/xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-2Axe2x80x9d) [MCP-1, MCP-3, MCP-4]; CCR-3 (or xe2x80x9cCKR-3xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-3xe2x80x9d) [eotaxin, RANTES, MCP-3] (Combadiere, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 16491-16494 (1995); CCR-4 (or xe2x80x9cCKR-4xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-4xe2x80x9d) [MIP-1xcex1, RANTES, MCP-1] (Power, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270, 19495-19500 (1995)); CCR-5 (or xe2x80x9cCKR-5xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cCC-CKR-5xe2x80x9d) [MIP-1xcex1, RANTES, MIP-1xcex2] (Sanson, et al., Biochemistry, 35, 3362-3367 (1996)); and the Duffy blood-group antigen [RANTES, MCP-1] (Chaudhun, et al., J. Biol. Chem., 269, 7835-7838 (1994)). The xcex2-chemokines include eotaxin, MIP (xe2x80x9cmacrophage inflammatory proteinxe2x80x9d), MCP (xe2x80x9cmonocyte chemoattractant proteinxe2x80x9d) and RANTES (xe2x80x9cregulation-upon-activation, normal T expressed and secretedxe2x80x9d).
Chemokine receptors, such as CCR-1, CCR-2, CCR-2A, CCR-2B, CCR-3, CCR-4, CCR-5, CXCR-3, CXCR-4, have been implicated as being important mediators of inflammatory and immunoregulatory disorders and diseases, including asthma, rhinitis and allergic diseases, as well as autoimmune pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis. A review of the role of chemokines in allergic inflammation is provided by Kita, H., et al., J. Exp. Med. 183, 2421-2426 (1996). An antagonist of the CCR3 receptor, Met-chemokine beta 7, has been proposed to be useful in ameliorating leukocyte infiltration associated with allergic inflammation (Nibbs, et al., J. Immunol., 164, 1488-1497 (2000)). Accordingly, agents which modulate chemokine receptors would be useful in such disorders and diseases. Compounds which modulate chemokine receptors would be especially useful in the treatment and prevention of atopic conditions including allergic rhinitis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, and particularly bronchial asthma.
A retrovirus designated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) is the etiological agent of the complex disease that includes progressive destruction of the immune system (acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS) and degeneration of the central and peripheral nervous system. This virus was previously known as LAV, HTLV-III, or ARV.
Certain compounds have been demonstrated to inhibit the replication of HIV, including soluble CD4 protein and synthetic derivatives (Smith, et al., Science, 238, 1704-1707 (1987)), dextran sulfate, the dyes Direct Yellow 50, Evans Blue, and certain azo dyes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,469). Some of these antiviral agents have been shown to act by blocking the binding of gp120, the coat protein of HIV, to its target, the CD4 glycoprotein of the cell.
Entry of HIV-1 into a target cell requires cell-surface CD4 and additional host cell cofactors. Fusin has been identified as a cofactor required for infection with virus adapted for growth in transformed T-cells, however, fusin does not promote entry of macrophagetropic viruses which are believed to be the key pathogenic strains of HIV in vivo. It has recently been recognized that for efficient entry into target cells, human immunodeficiency viruses require the chemokine receptors CCR-5 and CXCR-4, as well as the primary receptor CD4 (Levy, N. Engl. J. Med., 335(20), 1528-1530 (Nov. 14, 1996). The principal cofactor for entry mediated by the envelope glycoproteins of primary macrophage-trophic strains of HIV-1 is CCR5, a receptor for the xcex2-chemokines RANTES, MIP-1xcex1 and MIP-1xcex2 (Deng, et al., Nature, 381, 661-666 (1996)), HIV attaches to the CD4 molecule on cells through a region of its envelope protein, gp120. It is believed that the CD-4 binding site on the gp120 of HIV interacts with the CD4 molecule on the cell surface, and undergoes conformational changes which allow it to bind to another cell-surface receptor, such as CCR5 and/or CXCR-4. This brings the viral envelope closer to the cell surface and allows interaction between gp41 on the viral envelope and a fusion domain on the cell surface, fusion with the cell membrane, and entry of the viral core into the cell. It has been shown that xcex2-chemokine ligands prevent HIV-1 from fusing with the cell (Dragic, et al., Nature, 381, 667-673 (1996)). It has further been demonstrated that a complex of gp120and soluble CD4 interacts specifically with CCR-5 and inhibits the binding of the natural CCR-5 ligands MIP-1xcex1 and MIP-1xcex2 (Wu, et al., Nature, 384, 179-183 (1996); Trkola, et al., Nature, 384, 184-187 (1996)).
Humans who are homozygous for mutant CCR-5 receptors which do not serve as co-receptors for HIV-1 in vitro appear to be unusually resistant to HIV-1 infection and are not immuno-compromised by the presence of this genetic variant (Nature, 382, 722-725 (1996)). Absence of CCR-5 appears to confer protection from HIV-1 infection (Nature, 382, 668-669 (1966)). Other chemokine receptors may be used by some strains of HIV-1 or may be favored by non-sexual routes of transmission. Although most HIV-1 isolates studied to date utilize CCR-5 or fusin, some can use both as well as the related CCR-2B and CCR-3 as co-receptors (Nature Medicine, 2(11), 1240-1243 (1996)). Nevertheless, drugs targeting chemokine receptors may not be unduly compromised by the genetic diversity of HIV-1 (Zhang, et al., Nature, 383, 768 (1996)). Accordingly, an agent which could block chemokine receptors in humans who possess normal chemokine receptors should prevent infection in healthy individuals and slow or halt viral progression in infected patients. By focusing on the host""s cellular immune response to HIV infection, better therapies towards all subtypes of HIV may be provided. These results indicate that inhibition of chemokine receptors presents a viable method for the prevention or treatment of infection by HIV and the prevention or treatment of AIDS.
The peptides eotaxin, RANTES, MIP-1xcex1, MIP-1xcex2, MCP-1, and MCP-3 are known to bind to chemokine receptors. As noted above, the inhibitors of HIV-1 replication present in supernatants of CD8+ T cells have been characterized as the xcex2-chemokines RANTES, MIP-1xcex1 and MIP-1xcex2.
The present invention is directed to compounds which are modulators of chemokine receptor activity and are useful in the prevention or treatment of certain inflammatory and immunoregulatory disorders and diseases, allergic diseases, atopic conditions including allergic rhinitis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma, as well as autoimmune pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis. The invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds and the use of these compounds and compositions in the prevention or treatment of such diseases in which chemokine receptors are involved.
The present invention is further concerned with compounds which inhibit the entry of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) into target cells and are of value in the prevention of infection by HIV, the treatment of infection by HIV and the prevention and/or treatment of the resulting acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds and to a method of use of the present compounds and other agents for the prevention and treatment of AIDS and viral infection of HIV.